Over 50% employees believe robots are addition to workforce: Survey

Washington: More than 50 per cent employees believe that robots are an addition to the workforce as they automate repetitive or mundane work that they would otherwise have to do themselves, a survey has found.

The survey showed that workers are actually ready and willing to embrace robot coworkers rather than being worried about job losses.

Nearly 30 per cent of employees cited that machines are more attractive than co-workers because they do not get involved in office politics.

On the other hand, 34 per cent employers also agree that robots are more efficient and improve productivity than humans in the workplace.

“Far from workers worrying about their jobs being taken by robots, our study shows that employees are actually very happy to work alongside machines. With all the advantages of robots not getting involved in office politics too, we can expect to see more of this in the future!” Terri Hiskey, Vice President (product marketing, manufacturing) at Epicor Software Corporation, US-based global enterprise software provider, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Further, the survey showed that the industrial workforce is getting older and that only a quarter (23 per cent) of businesses are currently able to attract recruits with the right knowledge. Thus the use of robots can introduce efficiencies where human resource is low.

It can also encourage young talent into industry-with 33 per cent of millennials wanting to work at the cutting edge of new developments.

“With employers struggling to find candidates with the right skills or knowledge for entry-level roles, and with employees struggling to keep up with the pressures of business growth, automating aspects of the workforce offers a new way of building efficiencies into the supply chain, and enabling digital transformation,” Hiskey said.

Around 2,500 business respondents in 14 countries took part in the survey.

However, in order to make the most of the latest innovations in workplace robotics and Artificial Intelligence, businesses need to have the right infrastructure in place to manage data flows effectively, the survey revealed.